-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` The Bachelorette '' premiered Monday night with a tribute to a contestant .

Eric Hill , 31 , died in April from injuries suffered in a paragliding accident after filming the show . He was one of 25 men vying for the heart of `` Bachelorette '' Andi Dorfman , 26 .

At the beginning of Monday 's show , host Chris Harrison offered some kind words about Hill , who was an adventurer who documented his goal of visiting every country in 1,200 days on his website , The Global Odyssey .

`` Eric passed away shortly after concluding his filming on this show , '' Harrison said . `` In the coming weeks , you 'll see that Eric was a vibrant man . Every day , he impressed us with his passion and courageous spirit . He will be greatly missed . And we dedicate this season to him . ''

The premiere kicked off Season 10 of the series . During the show , Hill gifted Dorfman with dolls from Peru -- the first country he had visited outside of the North American continent . Dorfman thanked him and later selected him as one of the bachelors to whom she granted one-on-one time .

Harrison , who in addition to hosting the show also serves as one of the producers , talked to Salon about the difficulty in dealing with Hill 's death on the reality show .

`` One of the contestants who left the show died in a tragic accident , '' Harrison said . `` And he was a wonderful man , and very much beloved on the show , a central figure early on before he left , and our decision was quickly made : We have to show what he went through . And also because it affected our cast and our crew , what we went through . So to just cut that out of the show would n't have done justice to anybody , even him . ''

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Eric Hill died after finishing filming `` The Bachelorette ''

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He was one of 25 bachelors vying for the heart of Andi Dorfman

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The show 's host praised his `` passion and and courageous spirit ''